As I've mentioned on other stories about this device (like [1]), a part of the user story that's still missing is how these devices are supposed to interact with each other. Running a few web services inside your home network is neat, I guess, but not very useful if they're only accessible within that network.
There's also a lot of weird overlap between the services provided by the various apps installed by FreedomBox. It's unclear how much, if any, integration work FreedomBox is doing, or if the user is expected to do that on their own.
If it's a web server, then it would be accessible outside your home Internet network, would it not?
Regarding the use cases for something like this, I can think of a few:
- Roll-your-own cloud storage (pics, documents, videos) and access them anywhere you are. No need to hand over more of your data to iCloud, Dropbox etc
- Host a personal website. For the types that complain about being deplatformed from Twitter or whatever, here's the solution.
- Pihole or the nearest equivalent. All devices could have network-wide adblocking automatically.
To reach your freedombox from the internet you can: use a public IP address, use DynDNS, use PageKite, or use TOR.
About connecting boxes: FreedomBox is a platform for services/apps that then can connect.
About integration work: True; Some apps are indeed one-click installations and are running and usable after that, others (e.g. tahoe-lafs) would need more setup to be actually usable.
There's also a lot of weird overlap between the services provided by the various apps installed by FreedomBox. It's unclear how much, if any, integration work FreedomBox is doing, or if the user is expected to do that on their own.
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19722179